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DSAO Newsletter, Week of November 11, 2018

Summary Headlines – Please Read

*Please note that some of the top links are bookmarks to later sections of the email. If those links don’t work, please scroll through the email to find the appropriate section. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

REMINDER: Colorado All-State Materials due at the end of the day today for those 10-12 grade students wishing to apply

Please Sign up for Upcoming Preview Mornings!

Training Available November 15

It’s that time of year again for prospective students and families to tour DSA and learn about our school! This is a great opportunity to share how wonderful our orchestra program is!Many of you were able to tour the school prior to your student being accepted and remember what it was like. The tours this year will be the same as previous years. There is approximately a 2-hour commitment on those mornings.

This year we will be having 2 preview sessions: one in the fall for prospective students and additional preview mornings in the spring for new accepts.

New to giving tours or would like a refresher? No problem! There will be a Preview Mornings parent training session this coming week, Thursday 11/15, from 7:40 – 9 am in room #113. If you cannot attend the meeting, that’s ok! We can fill you in on any questions you may have.

To best serve our prospective students and families, we will need 2-3 people for each time slot. We need both middle school and high school parents, or those familiar with both.

DSA Orchestra’s Winter Silent Auction and Dinner

Is only four weeks away!

Saturday, December 8th, 2018

The money we raise goes directly to the orchestra and helps defray the costs of our upcoming trips.

Please consider contributing to the auction!

Also…join us for dinner before the auction. CLICK HERE to pay ($9 adults, $7 student) or send a check to DPS and put in forms box in orchestra room.

Please see below for details

5:30 Dinner and Silent auction before concert.

NO need to cook! Come and enjoy a winter soup and salad dinner before the concert. Details to come.

Be a part of our orchestra community for this great event to raise money for our educational and travel fund!

*Step 1. Donation: We ask that each family donate something to our Orchestra Silent Auction (does not need to be a complete basket). Share your special talent, memorabilia that is collecting dust, a weekend in the condo that you own, lessons, tutoring, or handmade art or jewelry. OR ask the concert hall, restaurant or coffee shop you frequent to donate something or a gift card for our kids. Items collected will be put into a variety of baskets for the auction.

A letter from DSA’s Principal

Dear DSA parent,

Last week, a team of DSA faculty and staff returned from the annual conference of the Arts Schools Network in Orange County, California. We participated in training, led some sessions ourselves, and toured peer schools. I’ve served on the ASN board for 8 years and am honored to be President of ASN for the next two years.

Last Friday, DSA was recognized as an Exemplary Arts School — an award we have consistently received since 2014. While we’re extremely proud of that level of achievement, the conference reminds me painfully each year of how much our faculty and staff — and students — do without resources that pale in comparison to our peer schools around the country.

From discussions with leaders of schools across the country, I have learned that many of them — public schools like ours — receive about double the amount of district or base funding that DSA does — about twice as much per student. Most of the schools raise additional funds beyond that, but they start out at a significant advantage. If you are not aware, Colorado is ranked number 48 of the 50 states in school funding.

Our Fill the Gap campaign isn’t intended to make up for that disadvantage. What it does do — and the reason we need everyone’s participation — is to help provide the necessary resources for us to go beyond “typical school” to function as the exemplary arts school we are. It is also imperative that we have close to 80% participation in order to demonstrate to private outside funders the strong internal support we have from our school community. The financial situations of our families vary widely and, knowing that, I respectfully ask that all families make a donation (large or small) that fits your budget. All gifts count toward participation.

I’m very grateful for the support of everyone who has already participated, and for the fact that you entrust us with your students. If we all work together, we can make a big difference in their lives and careers.

Thank you to all the parents and students who joined us recently for the travel meeting. The meeting was very well attended, and we believe many questions were answered. If you were unable to attend the meeting, links for the agenda (CLICK HERE), cost breakdown (CLICK HERE), and preliminary itinerary (CLICK HERE) are provided for your convenience. Please note that the itinerary is preliminary only and will change as we add activities and refine the days’ plans. Likewise, the cost breakdown is our best estimate at this time and may change if circumstances and bids change as the trip approaches.

A few items that require immediate attention:

1) Trip Payments: The first of 4 installment payments for the trip is past due. Payments should be made online through the My Schoolbucks site or app. If you are unable to pay online, you may send a check payable to DPS to Terrie. Please make your payment ASAP so that we have the cash on hand to make our payments to ASTA. Because of a change in the bus quote, we had to revise the payment schedule. The new payment schedule is:High School

10/12/18 255.00

11/12/18 255.00

12/12/18 256.00

1/12/19 257.00

Total 1023.00

$125 to be brought for food

Middle School

10/12/18 255.00

11/12/18 255.00

12/12/18 255.00

1/12/19 255.00

Total 1020.00

$125 to be brought for food

All payments will be due on the 12th of the month for the next 4 months.

2) Forms: The Consent to Emergency Treatment and Durable Power of Attorney forms are required for any off-campus trip. These forms must be turned into Terrie by December 1, 2018in order for your child to be allowed on the trip. These forms can be found on the DSAO website under travel. In addition, the ASTA Photo Release is required by ASTA. This form is also available on the DSAO website under travel.

Orchestra Closet Open – Accepting Donations!

The DSAO orchestra closet stores outgrown but still very wearable concert attire donated by orchestra families. This clothing and formal attire is available to any orchestra family for outfitting their growing musician. Let us know if you are in need of anything from the closet.

Now that we are into concert season has your musician managed to outgrow all of that fabulous concert attire? Don’t let those items collect dust in the back of their closet.

Donate them. We are always accepting donations of concert attire for the closet.

We have collection boxes in the orchestra room throughout the school year.

So send in those outgrown suits, tuxedos, dress shirts, bow ties, cummerbunds, dresses, tops, skirts, pants and shoes and we will add them to our growing closet.

DSAO King Soopers Cards are Now Available

Terri Tyree has a new batch of King Soopers Cards, ready for pickup! Please note that the cards come loaded with $2.50, which is what we charge for them. Correct change is appreciated, or alternatively feel free to write a check, made payable to DPS. Students can bring in the money & come see me and I will give them the card(s).
More information is below. Thank you so much!

Dear DSAO Families,

With travel in our near future, we are excited to announce that new King Soopers gift cards are available. The money we earn from our King Soopers Reloadable Gift Card fundraiser go into specific student travel accounts (based on card ownership & use) and will be used towards their Orchestra travel expenses.

Each time you reload your King Soopers Reloadable Gift Card (must be purchased through DSAO for $2.50 – which is the amount already loaded on the card), 5% of each reloading (up to $500) is awarded to DSAO, and we will track it for you and your student. That is 5 cents on every dollar you spend without costing you anything! Even a small amount can help when it comes time to pay for our ASTA trip. King Soopers send DSAO a check each time the reloads reach $5,000 or more, and that is when your students travel account will be credited with the amount earned. There is no cash value attached to the account, it is for DSAO fundraising only. Funds may follow the student from year to year providing they stay in the Orchestra. Once the student graduates, or leaves the Orchestra, the funds will be transferred to the DSAO travel scholarship fund, or may be transferred to a sibling within the Orchestra. Funds are not issued to the departing student or family.

Cards may be used at any Kings Soopers and City Market stores and can be used for many types of purchases including groceries, prescriptions, and gasoline. They cannot be used to purchase lottery tickets, stamps, money transactions, gift cards and other types of tickets.

Once you’ve purchased your card from DSAO, You simply give the card to your cashier before your purchases are scanned so the reloading is paid as a separate transaction (or you can do this at the Customer Service before making your purchases). You pay for the reload amount by cash, check or credit card. You can then use the Gift Card to pay for your purchases at any checkout line or fuel center. You can reload again and again. The more you use it, the more money is earned for your student. The money on the card never expires: However, if your balance goes to zero and you don’t reload it within 90 days, the card becomes inactive. You would then need to get a new card from DSAO. If you reload it after it is inactive, your student will not get credit for the reloads.

When DSAO plans a trip, and money is due, we will send you the balance in your students trip account to apply toward the amount due for that trip.

Master Classes for Hands-on Learning

Observe expert clinicians as they work with top-quality students to hone and refine their performance. Bring your instrument and join the instruction. It’s a great learning opportunity for teachers and students alike.

Make sure that your Emails are updated

It is very important that each family have at least one email address that is actively monitored for DSAO news. Email is the primary source of up-to-date information. Please click the appropriate link at the bottom or reply to this email if an address needs to be deleted (“unsubscribe from this list”), changed (“update subscription preferences”) or added. Thank you so much.